Father Dies After Lightning Strike

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PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. (WAOK/AJC)-This summer’s deastructive storms have claimed a life. A Peachtree City man died and another man was injured after a possible lightning strike Friday at Lake Peachtree, a fire and rescue spokesman said Saturday.

Burnette Hayes, 52, died after he was taken to Piedmont Fayette Hospital, according to Ron Mundy, battalion commander for Peachtree City Fire and Rescue Department. Hayes was found unconscious and in cardiac arrest near the Battery Way boat ramp on the east side of Lake Peachtree when emergency medical technicians arrived at around 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Mundy said the father of nine did not respond to advanced life support assistance.

Another man with Hayes, also in his 50s, became slightly coherent after receiving medical treatment, Mundy said. The unidentified man was taken to Atlanta Medical Center. His condition was not immediately known Saturday.

According to witnesses, a storm was in the area at the time and trees near where the two men were believed to have been standing showed evidence of a lightning strike. Mundy said the men may have been standing between two trees near the boat ramp.

Those who live around the lake said children were in the water, playing at the time the storm popped up Friday.

None of the children appeared to have been injured during the storm.

According to the National Weather Service, an average of 54 people are killed by lightning in the U.S. each year and hundreds are permanently injured. When you hear thunder you should seek shelter in a building or hard-top vehicle and wait at least 30 minutes after a storm has passed before resuming outdoor activities, according to the NWS’ safety tips.

The 270-acre Lake Peachtree is one of three lakes in Peachtree City. The other two are 240-acre Lake Kedron and Lake McIntosh, which will be about 650 acres after it is completed.